Samsung planning 11-inch Nexus tablet?

Samsung is working to expand its tablet line in 2013 by launching an 11-inch tablet as part of the Nexus program, according to SamMobile. The high-end tablet will reportedly be the first octa-core tablet from Samsung and Google, giving power-hungry users the tablet they've been waiting for.

Samsung is said to include an 11-inch Super PLS TFT display, a 8-megapixel rear-camera, 2-megapixel front-camera, Octa-Core A15 / A7 (Exynos 5410) processor, and an expandable Micro SD slot of up to 64GB. SamMobile reports the hardware for the tablet still needs to be approved by Google to get into the Nexus program. It's not yet clear if it will run Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, which is rumoured to be launching at Google I/O in mid-May.

One reason Samsung is joining the 11-inch market, which is relatively untapped, is because it might cancel the next generation of the Galaxy Note 10.1, because of weak sales. The Note tablet was introduced as an alternative to the 10.1 Galaxy Tab, and the 11-inch variant could step in to fill the gap. Furthermore, SamMobile reports that Samsung will also introduce an 11.1-inch Galaxy Tab alongside the Nexus version and will offer the dual-core processor Tab version at a cheaper price point for customers on a budget.

Samsung's tablet plans also include a 7-inch Galaxy Tab that features dual-SIM card support and will be similarly spec'd as the Galaxy Tab 3 introduced on Monday. Lastly, an 8-inch Galaxy Tab spec'd to compete with the iPad mini will be launched, promising an 8-inch 1080p AMOLED display, a quad-core A9 processor, and 5 megapixel camera.

No confirmation or release dates have been provided by Samsung, but given rumours, summer may make sense for launch.